May the force be with someone else

If you live, work or spend time downtown you will notice that stories of violent acts committed in the area may be reaching all-time high. It is very alarming to hear the stories of hate crimes committed in a so-called “diverse” town. If you have not heard about someone getting assaulted or robbed downtown in the last couple months, it is probably because the media does not want to project this image in a city where the main revenue source is tourism. I assure you, it is happening all around you. As a trusting, tax-paying citizen, you may believe that the authorities are doing all they can to lower this epidemic.

On a recent Saturday night, two of my good friends were written tickets at 2 a.m. for running a red light—on bicycles! I assure you there are many better things to concern an extensive amount of time with at 2 o’clock on Saturday night/Sunday morning than two people running stoplights on bicycles! They had four officers spend over a half an hour writing them tickets and explaining to them just how illegal their acts were. An acquaintance of the two men getting tickets walked by, and in his dismay at the situation [he] uttered an obscenity and the officers threatened to arrest him over it!

I hope anyone reading this letter finds it as hard as me to swallow that the officers were not spending their time on drunk drivers, violent crimes or something much more important!

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15 thoughts on “May the force be with someone else”

Are you really complaining that your friends were given tickets for running a red light? Really? I’m a cyclist, and I think that all cyclists in Asheville would be better respected if so many of them weren’t quite so dumb.

it was a 2am red light, and yeah, they were on bicycles – hardly a threat. forcing them to obey traffic laws like that at an hour when there’s very little traffic – it just seems obnoxious. there ARE far more useful things for them to be doing.

So, at what time do you think police should stop enforcing traffic laws? “Hey, c’mon, it’s late and I didn’t think you’d pull me over. Gimme a break.” Good luck with that. You run a red light, you get a ticket. That’s the way it is, and whining about it isn’t going to make it go away.

I think it would be quite a reasonable expectation to have officers arrive at the scene of a cyclist who ran a red light at 2am in the morning only to get his brains smashed by a motorist who was properly observing traffic laws by proceeding through the intersection under a green light! What an idiotic objection especially when it is already difficult to observe cyclists even in daylight conditions. If a cyclist is stupid enough (yes, stupid)to have no caution or regard for the road, then he or she deserve a ticket. I would rather he get the ticket than have myself or somebody else I know kill the fool in an accident.

i’m just saying that there is NO SAFETY ISSUE with running a red light at 2am on a bicycle. you can clearly hear and see both ways plenty far enough that late at night that it is 100% safe. usually. i tend to assume people are adults and can make safety calls like that for themselves. and that police will ticket you whenever they can, regardless of whether you were being safe or not.

Many people don’t know this, but a cyclist was killed last month right before Bele Chere. If I remember the article correctly, he might had pulled out in front of a car at night. What I do remember was that he was 19 and the father of three.

I myself try to stay off the streets during last call, ESPECIALLY on a Saturday night. I’m sure that these policemen had these cyclists’ safety in mind when writing them the tickets. Don’t blow through red lights whether in car, moped or bike!

and you want to know why it’s safe and this is total BS? because how many Pedestrians get ticketed for jaywalking! and who cares if a pedestrian walks across a red light on an abandoned road at 2am? nobody! except a jerk!

but some people LOVE to defend the police…some fantasy of thinking that anyone with a badge is perfect, probably due to some deep seeded neurotic fears…

There are plenty of traffic lights with blind spots and at 2 AM on a Saturday there is probably some impaired judgment from both a cyclist and motorist. I still believe that the police had these two’s safety in mind.

i said there was no safety issue running a red light at 2am ON A BICYCLE.

but travelah, you love to distort, don’t you?

What moronic book taught you running through a red light at an intersection on a bicycle in the dark at 2 AM was a SAFE, not to mention smart, thing to do?? I am hoping the state has already pulled your license so that we can at least keep you on a bike rather than behind the wheel because I’m guessing you don’t drive very safely at 2 AM.

Running a red light any time of the day OR NIGHT is bleeding stupid out your ears. I’m sick of the “but if it’s a bike it isn’t a big deal” argument. It’s complete BS.
Bicycles are considered vehicles. If you’re going to ride on the road, you have to follow the rules of the road. No exceptions, do not pass go, do not collect $200. It’s the only way cars are going to take us seriously.